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« on: November 05, 2016, 06:36:26 pm »
On the shores of Old Hadria Nikalas hovered, burning red eyes looking over the ruins of what had been. The ruins spread out before the God, the blasted hovels of the poor slowly giving way to the debris ridden streets of the inner city, the land itself rising as it came to the massive columned palace in the city center. Hadria was dead, its Gods murdered and its Legions scattered to the winds. Nikalas had once drank with its heroes, encouraging them to greater acts of valor. All dust now, the Phoenix and the Godslayer had seen to that. But as a creature of opposites the God knew well, death begets life.
Through the streets he solemnly floated, untouched by the rot and decay. From the dark alleyways scavengers and squatters watched his passage with terror, eyes wide as what must be some sort of monster passed through their streets. Nikalas's form twitches for a second and tendrils of darkness flow off him, groping and grasping. The long dead bones and corpses rose, moaning out their pain as dark energy filled them again. Simple beasts grew large and terrible, with teeth like knives and eyes filled with rage. The scavengers were twisted and changed, becoming violent and monstrous. By the time he reached the palace the whole city was crawling with horrors, fighting for control of districts already. There, in that palace, his power touched the great mass of royal guards that had died to the last. The ensuing roar shook the whole city
1 Fearbound act: Nikalas infests the city with monsters, from the rotting undead to tribes of goblin-like humanoids, and gives them a horrible conglomerate king in the palace.
Far from the ruined city he roamed, passing over fortified farmsteads and redoubts, bastions of strength in the wasteland. Each one, from the smallest settlement to the largest city state he visited during the night, silent as a ghost. The people of Southern Eversummer spoke of strange dreams. In it they were in a ancient hall, the statue of heroes long dead lining the wall. A strange hooded figure beckoned them over and pointed out a window to a ruined city.
"There", he spoke, "Lies Arl'aks, City of Horror. As we speak monsters battle over it, their prize the palace and the monstrous king it contains. If any single tribe dominates the others they will pour from the city and lay wrack and ruin on the countryside for a thousand years. I ask of you, and all others in who valor is strong, the go there and slay the monsters and their king. If you do this not only will you protect your loved ones, but the glory and treasures of old Hadria will be yours. Kill these fiends, and your name will be sung in every tavern."
Over the next few months bands of adventurers began to form and unite, massing in numbers as they prepare to attack Arl'aks
1 Valourbound Act: Nikalas visits all the settlements in South Eversummer and gives them a series of dreams that tell them to unite and clear this city of monsters. This dream should also inspire bravery in these people and make them more likely to do heroic acts.
